Gas-engine.



N0. 76,792. Patented Dec; 23, vi992.

F. E. & M. E. VAUGHN.

'GAS ENGINE.

(Application filed June 29, 190].

`(ne Model.) 5 sheets-sheet l.

e. :MM-My No. 716,792. Patented Dec. 23, |902.

F. E. & M. E. VAUGHN.

GAS ENGINE.

(Application led J'une-29, 1901.) (No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 2.

MTA/55555 INVENTUM' y.

Patented Dec. 23, i902. F. E. M. E. VAUGHN.

GAS ENGINE..

Application :ned June 2s, 1901.;

5 Sheets-Sheet 3 (No Model.)

WHA/55555 Patented Dec. 23, |902'.I F. E. & M. E. VAUGHN.

GAS ENGINE.

Appicntonled June 29, 1901.)

@No Modem 5 Sheets-Sheet' 4.

a .a im /A 6 8 o 8 i. 1 e.. 1 7

No. 7|B,792. Patented Dec. 23, |902. F. E. 8. M.E. VAUGHN.

GAS ENGINE.

(Applicatog filed June 29, 1901.) (No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 5.

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UNITED STATESV PATENT OFFICE.

FRANCIS E. VAUGHN AND MARION E. VAUGHN, OF PENDLETON, INDIANA.

GAS-ENGINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 716,792, dated December23, 1902.

Application iiled .lune 29, 190i.:- Serial No. 66,467. (No model.)

To all whom, it' may concern.:

Be it known that we, FRANCIS E. VAUGHN and MARION ETAU GHN ofPendleton,county of Madison, and State of Indiana, have invented acertain new and useful Gas-Engine; and we do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, in which like numerals refer tolike parts.

The object of our present invention is to improve the construction andoperation of gas or gasolene engines.

Our invention consists in a reversible gas or gasolene engine, and toaccomplish that object one new feature lies in the automatic operationof the fuel-inlet valve by the crank on 'the crank-shaft or any partconnected with or controlled by the piston, whereby the engine can bereversed.

Another feature of the invention coperating with the foregoing toproduce the result mentioned consists in a double cam for controllingthe sparker-actuating mechanism, so that it will be equally operativewhen the engine is reversed or in whichever direction the engine may heoperated. 1

These features of our invention will appear more fully from theaccompanying drawings and the followingdescription and claims.

Figure l is a plan of the engine. Fig. 2 is vertical section onthe line2 2 of Fig. l, being a side elevation of the major part of the engine.Fig. 3 is a central vertical longitudinal section of the engine. Fig. 4.is a vertical cross-section through the engine on line with thecrank-shaft. Fig. '5 is a vertical cross-section of the crank-shaft,showing in side elevation the iy-wheel on which the governor is mounted,parts being broken away. Fig. 6 is a vertical cross-section on the line6 6 of Figs. 1 and 7, showing the gasolenemixer. Fig. 7 is a horizontalsection on the line 7 7 of Fig. 6, showing it arranged for gas. Fig. 8shows the cam for controlling the sparker-actuating device, said cambeing shown in said gure in elevation and also in plan. Fig. 9 shows theinlet-valve for the fuel after the piston has made its forward movement.Fig. 10 shows the fuel-inlet-valve mechanism altered when the engine isreversed from the position of the parts in Fig. 3.

:for mounting the sparker.

larged section of the top front part of the piston at thelimit of itsinward stroke and,

Fig. 13 is Fig. 1l is a longitudinal section of the means Fig. 12 is anenthe adjacent part of the cylinder. a plan of the cam for actuating thesparker mechanism and the adjacent parts, parts being broken away toshow the position of the sparker-actuating rod on the cam after anignition.

Referring now to the details of construction ofthe horizontal enginewhich we have shown in the drawings for the purpose of illustrating thegeneral nature and principles of the various improvements we have madeand hereinafter claim, the bed-plate 1 is mounted upon a suitable base,and upon that bed-plate and integral with it is the casing 2, whichincloses the piston-rod 3 and piston 4 and is integrally connected withthe cylinder 5. In fact, the chamber formed by the casing 2 and thecylinder 5 are all one chamber when the piston is out. 6 is thecylinder-head, which is removably secured to the cylinder. Awater-jacket 7 surrounds the combustion end of the cylinder. The wateriows intoit th rough the pipe S below and out through the pipe 9 above.A

10 is the inlet-port for the fuel to the coinbustion end of thecylinder, and the fuel is conveyed to said port through the passage 1lfrom thechamber formed by the casing 2. The inlet 10 is on the upperside of the cylinder when the engine is horizontal, and the Yexhaust-port 12 is on the lower side, the pipe 13 leading from saidexhaust-port.

The piston is hollow to receive the pistonrod, which is pivoted on thepin 14, extending through the piston transversely, and the bearing-block15 is held against the end of the piston by a set-screw 16, that extendsthrough the head of the piston. The head of the piston is reinforced bythe plate 17, which has on its upper-side the forwardly-project ing ip18, extending .aboutY one-fourth the way around in the arc of acircle,with its upper surface concave in a section longitudinal of the piston,whereby the fuel entering through the inlet-port 10 when the piston isat its rear limit of movement will be deflected upward, as seen in Fig.12, and away from the exhaust-port at the under side or bottom IOO turesof novelty.

The crank-shaft 2O extends transversely through the casing 2 and aboutconcentric therewith, being mounted in the bearings 21 and 71, bolted toeach side of said casing, as appears in Fig. 4. A pair of fly-wheels 22and 23 are secured on said shaft, one with the handle 24 for startingthe engine and the other 22 carrying the governor device.

In the bearing 21 to the left of the engine, as shown in Fig. 4, thefuel-inlet mechanism is provided. The casing 2 on that side is cut awayannularly to receive the annular flange 25 on the inner` end of thebearing 2l, as appears in Fig. 7. Through the inner wall of this bearing2l three passage-ways or openings are provided, as `seen in Fig. 7, acentral one 26 for the passage of gas or gasolene, and the opening 27 oneach side thereof from the outside to introduce air into the chamber inthe casing 2 to conimingle with the gas, and thereby make itcombustible. The air-openings 27 are closed when gasolene is used, asthe air is previously mixed with the gasolene by what is shown in Fig.6, and the resultant gas passes through the opening 26. As seen in Fig.7, the opening 26 leads from the chamber 28, that is supplied with gasthrough a suitable supply-pipe (not shown) or gasolene through the pipe38. (Seen in Fig. 6.)

The mixing-chamber 30 is formed by the valve-casing 31, vertically boredout, with the large chamber opening at the upper end and the smalleropening or air-inlet 32 through the lower end. The upper opening isclosed by the screw-plug 33 and has in it a guidehole 34 for the stem ofthe valve 35. The hole 34 is closed at the upper end by the screw 36.The valve 35 by gravity closes the air-inlet opening 32 and also thegasoleneinlet port 37, that leads from the gasolenesupply pipe 38, andis controlled by the needle-valve 39. rlhe valve 35 is raised by suctionof the engine to admit the gasolene and air.

The inlet-ports 26 and 27 for the gas and air are closed by a revolubleValve-plate 40, that surrounds the shaft 20, and also asmall collar 41,extending inward from the bearing 21, as seen in Fig. 4, and liesbetween said collar 41 and the annular collar 25 from said bearing, asshown in Figs. 4and 7. Said valveplate is a plain disk and has in it aslot 42 in the are of a circle and concentric with the valve-plate, asappears in Figs. 3, 9, and 10. This valve-plate 40 is rotated by thecrank of the crank-shaft engaging one of the pins 43 that extend inwardfrom said plate, as appears in Figs. 3 and 4. At each rotation of thevalve-plate the slot 42 passes and registers with the inlet-ports 26 and27 for the gas and air, and during such time the chamber in the casing 2is charged with fuel. This is while the piston `is moving forward. Afterthe explosion and return movement of the piston the gas and air in thechamber within the casing 2 is somewhat compressed, and when the pistonhas retreated enough to uncover the inlet-port l0 such gas and airrushes through the passage-way 11 and through said port into the forwardend of the cylinder. Just before this is done the forward end of thecylinder is exhausted of the gases resulting from the explosion throughthe exhaustport 12. The forward movement of the pis- Itou immediatelyfollowing closes both the inlet and exhaust ports and compresses the gasand air in the forward end of the cylinder ready for and prior to itsignition by the electric spark. By providing two pins 43 in thevalve-plate 40 so placed that the crank-shaft can be reversed withoutthe actuation of said plate 40 during the reversal or semirotation ofthe ily-wheel and crank-shaft. At the end of such reversal orsemirotation the crankshaft engages one of the pins 43 and actuates theplate 40 continuously until another reversal of the engine. `Said pins43 are so placed that the valve-plate by means of the slot 42 willuncover the inlet-ports 26 and 27 for the fuel while the piston ismoving forward. By the valve-plate 40 not being actuated during thereversal of the engine such reversal is made possible, because the fuelthen does not enter at the wrong end of the stroke of the piston, butwhen the semirotation of the shaft or the reversal of the engine hasbeen consummated the inlet of fuel will occur at the' proper time-thatis, on the forward stroke of the piston-.just the same as prior to thereversal of the engine.

The igniting device is shown on the cylinder-head in Fig. 3. Extendingcentrally through said cylinder-head there is a sleeve 50, through whicha contact pin or point 51 extends and which is insulated from the sleeve50, as appears in Fig. 11. To this point 5l an electrical conductor orwire 52 is secured. Within the cylinder a post 49 is mounted on theinner end of the sleeve 50, and in that post a horizontal shaft 53 ismounted, carrying an arm or contact-point 54, which normally is incontact with the inner end of the contact-point 51. When the contactbetween the contact-point 51 and 54 is broken by the means hereinafterdescribed, the spark is emitted that explodes the gas in the cylinder.

The shaft 53, just referred to and shown in Fig. 3, extends outside thecylinder, as shown in Fig. 2, and on its outer end carries a crank 55,which is operated by the rod 56, that extends loosely through it and isheld in place by the nut 57 on one side and the spiral spring 58 on theother side, said spiral spring 58 acting against the washer 73 at oneend and against the stationary collar or block 59 at the other end. Therod 56 is guided through an apertured bracket 60, secured to the side ofthe engine-casing, and is actuated by the IOO IIO

IZO

cam 6l. The opening in the guide-bracket is large enough to permit aslight lateral movement of the rodA 56 toward or away from theengine-casing, as appears in Figs. l and 13, and through the opening insaid bracket 60 a flat spring 62 extends, it being curved, with one endsecured to the rod 56 and the other end resting against said rod, withthe swell bearing against the inner end of the slot or opening in thebracket 60. The object of the spring 62 is to hold the rod 56 at itsouterlimit of movement and on the outer periphery or collar of the cam6l, as appears in Fig. l. Said cam 6l is secured on the shaft 20 androtates therewith. It is shown in detail in Fig. 8. It has twoperipheries, an outer periphery concentric with the center of the shafton which the cam is mounted and which at one point is cut away to permitthe endv of the rod 56, by reason of the action of the spring 5S, toescape from such outer periphery or collar and extend'through suchcut-away portion against the inner or secondary periphery 65. The latteris eccentric with the shaft 20 and with the outer periphery of the cam6l, as appears in Fig. 8. The surface of said eccentric collar orperiphery that is nearest the center of the shaft 2O is located adjacentthe notch or cut-out portion of said outer periphery, as appears in Fig.8. The portion of the inner or eccentric periphery of the cam 6l that isfarthest from the center of the shaft is ilush with said outerperiphery, as appears in Fig. S. As has been explained, the end of therod 56 is pressed and rides against the outer periphery of the cam 6luntil it drops into the cut-out portion thereof, and then thecontact-point 54 (shown in Fig. 3) is separated from the contact-point5l, and the spark occurs. The cut-away portion or recess in the outerperiphery of the cam 61 has at both ends of it an inclined surface 65,and as said cam rotates farther each inclined side surface pushes theinner end of the rod 56 toward the casingof the engine, as appears inFig. 13. During such operation the inner end of the rod 56 abuts againstthe inner or eccentric periphery7 of the cam. The further rotation ofsaid cam causes the inner end of said rod 56 to ride around to theportion of the inner or eccentric periphery that is flush with the outerperiphery of said cam, and when it does so the spring 62 pushes theinner end of said rod 56 out and causes it subsequently to ride upon oragainst the outer periphery, until it again falls into the notch orrecessin the outer periphery, and another spark is emitted. The objectof this construction of the cam having the outer periphery notched orrecessed with the two oppositelyinclined side faces 65 is to enable thesparking mechanism to operate in the same way When the engine isreversed or regardless of the direction in which the engine is running.

The governor in this engine is mounted upon the ily-Wheel 22, asillustrated in Figs. 4 and 5, and it acts as a governor by interruptingthe flow of the electric current to the sparking contact-point 54. Aswill be observed in said figures, we mount upon the shaft aninsulatedcollar 8O having a groove in its periphery in which lies an electricalconductor 8l, a wire or springI that is held in place by the staples 82upon the base-piece 85 and insulated therefrom. Conductor Slis connectedwith a suitable battery or dynamo for generating electricity, which,however, is not shown. In the machine here shown the electric circuitbetween the wire 83, just mentioned, and the wire V52 at thecylinder-head is established by means of and through the engine-that is,the fly-wheel, shaft, and engine-casing. The circuit between theilywheel and collar 80, that is connected with the conductor 8l, iscompleted by the rod 86, which is mounted in the y-wheel, as shown inFig. 5. It is pressed inward by the spring S7 through the guide 88against the periphery of the collar 80. As long as there is contactbetween the rod 86 and the collar S0 the circuit is closed for sparkingpurposes.

When the speed of the engine becomes great,

the centrifugal force of the ily-wheel 23 will throw the rod 86 outwardagainst the spring 66 and disengage it from the collar 80. This breaksthe circuit and stops the sparking and the explosion of gas in thecylinder, and consequently reduces the speed of the engine until thespring 87 overcomes the centrifugal force acting on the rod 86 andpushes said rod back into contact with the collar and closes thecircuit, whereupon the sparking and the explosion of the gas will beresumed. While the sparking-circuit is broken by this governor duringthe high speed of the engine, the introduction of the fuel into theforward end of the cylinder is no greater than usual, because theexhaust-port permits the escape of any surplusage.

The desired speed of the engine can be regulated through means of thescrew 89. W'hen it is desired to decrease the speed of the engine, saidscrew is loosened somewhat to diminish the tension of the spring S7,whereby the centrifugal force of the wheel acting on the rod 86 willmore readily overcome the action of the spring and said rod be moved outof contact with the collar 80 to break the circuit. On the other hand,if the screitr 89 be tightened a correspondingly higher speed of theengine would be required to break the circuit. In order to distributeand mix the incoming gas and air, we place diagonally-extending bars 72across the slot or inlet 42 of the valve 40, as shown in Figs. 9 and l0.

What We claim as our invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

IIO

l. A gas-engine including a fuel-inlet, a rotary valve for opening andclosing said inlet, a rotary piston-actuated means, and a pair of stopson said valve, one of which is engaged by the piston-actuated meanswhile revolving in one direction, and the other is engaged by said meansWhile revolving in the other direction.

2. A gas-engine including a fuel-inlet, a rotary valve for opening andclosing said inlet, a rotary piston-actuated means for actuating thevalve, and a connection between the pisL ton-actuated means and valve solocated that the piston-inlet will be open While the piston is movingforward and While reversing said valve will not be operated.

3. A gas-engine including a crank-shaft, a fuel-chamber connected withthe cylinder of the, engine and through which said crankshaft extends, afuel-inlet opening in the Wall of said chamber, a valve plate rotatablymounted concentric with the crank shaft adapted to open and close saidfuel-inlet, and a pair of stops on said valve-plate that are singlyengaged by the crank on the crankshaft, said stops being so placed withrelation to each other that the crank on reversal Will make ahalf-revolution from one of said stops before it engages the other stop,substantially as shown.

4. A gas-engine including la crank-shaft, a fuel-chamber connected withthe cylinder and through which said crank-shaft extends, a curvedfuel-inlet opening through the Wall of Said chamber concentric With thecrank-shaft, a Valve-plate rotatably mounted concentric with thecrank-shaft and having a curved opening therein to register with theopening through the Wall of the fuel-chamber, the pins 43 connected withsaid valve-plate substantially as shown on the same side of adiametrical line through the center of said valveplate, and in positionto be engaged by the crank on the crank-shaft, and a piston-rodconnected With the crank on said crank-shaft for actuating the same.

In Witness whereof We have hereunto affixed our signatures in thepresence of the Witnesses herein named.

FRANoIs E. VAUGHN. MARION E. VAUGHN.

Witnesses:

FLORENCE E. BRYANT, V. H. LocKWooD.

